An injured man arrives at a hospital after two buses collided with a fuel tanker on a major highway in the eastern province of Ghazni in Afghanistan. Some 55 people have survived the accident. Photo: Reuters

At least 70 people have died after two buses and a fuel tanker collided on a major highway in Afghanistan.

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70 die as buses smash into tanker

Independent.ie

At least 70 people have died after two buses and a fuel tanker collided on a major highway in Afghanistan.

Another 50 people who had been on the buses were wounded in the accident, which set all three vehicles ablaze, said Jawed Salangi, spokesman for the governor of the eastern Ghazni province.

Records show the two buses were carrying a total of 125 passengers, Mr Salangi said. "With 55 survivors out of the 125, 70 people are dead," he said.

The collision happened at 7am yesterday morning on the main highway linking the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar.

Mr Salangi said the road had been cleared and reopened by early afternoon.

The buses were travelling one behind the other from Kabul to Kandahar when the accident happened, according to Mohammadullah Ahmadi, director of the provincial traffic department, who blamed the crash on reckless driving.

He said local residents helped firefighters and first responders pull survivors from the wreckage.

Most of those who died in the crash were "completely burned", officials said.

Road accidents are common in Afghanistan, where roads are often in poor condition and traffic laws are rarely enforced.